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Sylvia and Andri Wahyudi, owners of Kikku Japanese Food, will get the keys to 7785 N. Palm Ave. sometime next week. Photos by Edward Smith

published on August 16, 2019 - 10:33 AM
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A Downtown Fresno Japanese restaurant is taking its chicken bowls and sushi on the road when they open later this year in north Fresno.

Sylvia and Andri Wahyudi, owners of Kikku Japanese Food, will get the keys to 7785 N. Palm Ave. sometime next week. That’s the former Koja Kitchen space that closed in April in the Park Place shopping center at Palm and Nees avenues.

The pair plan to start serving up their signature spicy crunchy chicken as Kikku Kitchen for an early December opening.

It won’t be too difficult to adapt the 2,600 square-foot space after the previous tenants, Sylvia said. Much of the same casual dine-in or take-out format and kitchen equipment will easily carry over into their “urban kitchen” concept.

“We will make it more Kikku-centric,” Andri said.

Sylvia Wahyudi pours teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds on their signature spicy crispy chicken bowl.

 

The menu will include teriyaki chicken, seafood dishes, poke bowls and beer on tap.

Kikku has become somewhat of a Downtown Fresno fixture after its 18 years in business. In 2015, voters chose Kikku as the winner of the Downtown Fresno Partnerhip’s restaurant makeover contest. Companies including Core Business Interiors, Innovative Commercial Flooring and more offered services to transform the space.

Andri and Sylvia began mulling a possible expansion a couple of years ago after numerous requests from guests. They decided to hold off until their two children got a little older. Now that they are school-age, they decided to look. It took that time, however, to find a space.

“Sometimes there’s not a spot that has that potential,” Andri said.

Sylvia says the location will be very similar to the Downtown Fresno eatery, with plenty of office buildings to fill the booths and order take out.

“The spot has a lot of traffic,” she said. “A lot of offices and residential.”

When Kikku Kitchen opens, Syvia and Andri plan to introduce the same ordering technology to it as the downtown location. They worked with Ordrslip to develop their app for mobile orders.

Hours for the new location will be Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.


Related stories: Bay Area chain brings Korean-Japanese fusion to Fresno


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